Ra'am threatens election over block of family reunification

• Author: GIL HOFFMAN
• Published date: 03 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The coalition failed in July to pass the Citizenship Law that blocks citizenship for such Palestinians, which could have opened the floodgates to thousands of such cases. But since then, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked has single-handedly blocked them by refusing to deal with their requests.

"If the issues pertaining to Arab society are not resolved, we will enable an election to be initiated by November 14," said Knesset Interior Committee chairman Walid Taha of Ra'am. "If Shaked does not keep agreements we reached about the Citizenship Law, we will go to an election. Our coalition partners know that."

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November 14 is the deadline for the narrow 61-MK coalition to pass the state budget, or else an election in February would automatically be initiated.

Shaked asked for more time to reach a compromise after the budget is passed. Meanwhile, the coalition rejected an immigration bill in Sunday's meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Legislation that would be much tougher than the Citizenship Law.

The bill's sponsor, Religious Zionist Party MK Simcha Rothman, turned down a request by Shaked to delay the vote on the bill. He intends to bring it to a vote in the Knesset on Wednesday, which could embarrass right-wing members of the coalition.

Rothman said the coalition would have to commit to legislate his bill for him to delay bringing it to a vote.

"They need...